In California, it takes about three to five days to get a satellite TV dish installed. A kitchen remodel usually lasts about 45 days.

But installing solar power on the roof of your home or business typically takes 80 to 90 days — largely because of permits, building inspections and getting the system connected to the electric grid.

To shorten that time, SolarTech plans to announce the “Great California Solar Challenge” — a friendly competition among solar advocates — at its annual Solar Summit being held Tuesday and Wednesday in Santa Clara.

SolarTech, an initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, is working to resolve a host of technical and market barriers, from permitting requirements to time spent processing paperwork, in hopes of rapidly expanding the adoption of solar energy for residential and commercial systems. The idea behind the Solar Challenge is to get local governments, utilities and the solar industry collaborating on ways to reduce both the cost and the time that it takes to get projects completed.

“This is an open, friendly competition,” said Doug Payne of SolarTech. “We need to move behind proposing best practices and make them happen.”

Payne envisions five to seven cities, in partnership with industries and utilities, competing across the state.

The price of solar panels has plummeted in recent years. But consumers must pay not only for the panels but also for installation and “balance of system” costs, like wiring and inverters. Cities throughout California also charge fees to the solar company that does the installation.

Municipalities vary widely on the fees they charge based on the value of the project, or the time, energy and effort that city staffers spend reviewing the projects. The economic downturn has caused many local governments to slash their staffs, which has made it even harder for solar companies to get projects reviewed quickly.

Greg Sellers sees both sides of the issue. He is president of Burnham Energy and serves as SolarTech’s permitting committee chairman. He also served on the Morgan Hill City Council for 12 years.

“Cities have really cut back on both personnel and training,” Sellers said. “You have a lot of personnel who aren’t familiar with solar installations, but cities need assurances that solar systems are of high quality. We need to drive efficiencies throughout to streamline the process for customers.”

"The easy part is buying the body cameras and issuing them to the officers. They are not that expensive," said Jim Pasco, executive director at the National Fraternal Order of Police. "But storing all the data that they collect - that cost is extraordinary. The smaller the department, the tougher it tends to be for them."